Coloring Cheat Sheet: 7 Easy Hacks

Some people are talented artists that know the hidden secrets of using coloring tools to perfection. But we don’t all have those super cool skills to color in our coloring books or know any cool hacks. Check out our coloring cheat sheet: 7 easy hacks – coloring techniques and tips that’ll help you go beyond regular coloring in the lines.

1) Watercolor Effect – Without Watercolor Pencils

Want to get a watercolor look, but don’t have any watercolor supplies? Don’t worry! All you need is baby oil and a Q-Tip. Put a bit on a Q-Tip and gently rub the chosen colored area. This will create a great watercolor effect.

Be careful, though! Too much will make saturate and bleed through the paper.

2) Gradients, Shading, and Blending

You can create a gradient look with just a couple of colored pencils. Choose different shades of the same color (or different ones) and progressively go from a light shade to a darker shade (or vice versa) across the paper.

This applies to shading as well. But you can also easily shade with just one colored pencil. All you need to do is change how hard you press down with your pencil. Apply more pressure and layers for a darker color, and less pressure for a color that’s lighter.

Another simple way to blend: using a paper towel. Just fold a paper towel up and rub over the area you want to blend. A colorless blender pencil could also achieve this look.

3) Don’t Throw Away the Pencil Shavings!

It might not seem like it, but those pencil shavings do have some use. The dust from your colored pencil shavings is a great way to add a soft effect to you colorings! Just collect the colored dust, put it on whatever area you want, and gently rub it in with your finger. This will give you a very soft and light look.

4) Mix Up the Markers, Pens, and Pencils

Markers, pens, and pencils all create different looks. Markers and pens use ink and can provide a darker or more vivid color. Colored pencils can create more varied shades by simply changing the pressure used. You can create a wonderfully diverse coloring by just mixing up your mediums.

5) Make it POP

For coloring books, all you have to do is color in the lines. But when you start coloring, inevitably you’ll color over those lines and reduce the vivid black color. To darken those lines again, just go over them with a black pen or marker! It will make the surrounding colors appear more vivid and bright.

You could also use a white out pen or a white marker to add some highlights. You can even use glitter gel pens!

6) Add Some Texture

Why not add some texture to your 2-D colorings? Simply place sand paper, textured paper, a leaf or any other object that has an interesting texture underneath your paper. Pressing down on that surface while coloring, adds a great textured surface to your art!

7) The Internet is Your Coloring Oyster

The internet provides everything a beginner or more experienced colorist all kinds of coloring techniques to evolve their skills. A site like Cleverpedia has awesome video tutorials on how to be super awesome at coloring!

Check out the Inkspirations line of coloring books to practice these techniques on!

About Our Guest Blogger

Stephanie Muniz is an English major concentrating in Writing and Rhetoric at Florida Atlantic University and will be graduating this December with a B.A. She enjoys reading, eating her weight in chocolate, and playing with her dog, Rocky. She survives work, classes, and interning by drinking large amounts of coffee.